The Wimbledon Championships may be viewed as simply a part of the great British summer of sport, or regarded in splendid grass-court isolation, but for Andy Murray the quest is year-long, and the next nine days represent a genuine chance of him winning his first grand slam title. On Saturday comes step three against Serbia's Viktor Troicki, and the pressure is ratcheted up another notch, though that is not something that consumes his thoughts. "My game has improved enormously, and I don't think that has anything to do with my handling of the pressure. I've always wanted to win here."

Last year, when he lost to Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals in a rather brutal straight sets defeat, Murray was ranked just outside the top 10. Now he is the third best player in the world behind Roger Federer, the five-times champion and favourite to win again, and the injured champion, Nadal. No British man has risen this high in the modern era and suddenly expectation has been transformed into genuine possibility. He is that good.

"I always enjoy playing here and I've got a much better chance of winning Wimbledon this time than I did last year, but I'm going to have to play my best tournament to do that," Murray said. Previously his best by far was last year's US Open when he defeated Nadal, the world No1, for the first time ever in the semi-finals, but was a spent force – mentally, emotionally, and physically – when he lost to Federer in the final. Yet it convinced him that winning one of the four majors was now possible.

At Queen's, where he became the first British man to win the title since Bunny Austin in 1938, Murray served exceptionally well, and has continued to do so this week. The power has been there for some time, though the sliced, fading serve, so effective on grass, is now reminiscent of Pete Sampras, the seven-times champion, whose joint record of 14 slams Federer is attempting to beat. "I've not changed my motion, it's still exactly the same as it was, but because I have got physically stronger I'm a lot more balanced throughout. Before that my legs were stronger than my upper body, and I would collapse a little bit," said Murray.

Now he is staying taller for longer, while it is less effort for him to serve hard. And this has led to a greater variety. "Before I used to try to serve huge on a lot of the points. Now I'm getting a higher percentage in and hitting the lines with a lot less effort. I have always practised my serve a lot. Maybe I spend a little bit more time on it than before, but it's always been a very important part of my game. If you can take care of your own service game then it puts an awful lot of pressure on your opponent, and I have done that since I first came on the tour. But the physical work has made a big difference."

Murray and Troicki have met twice before on the ATP Tour, Murray winning in straight sets on both occasions with the Serb managing just seven games. Troicki's main weapon is his serve, having hit 35 aces to date this week, compared to Murray's 32, though this is only a small part of the story. Troicki, ranked a career-high No31, and a year older than Murray, had won just five matches at slam level prior to this week, and has nothing approaching Murray's experience on grass. Murray, having crushed Latvia's Ernests Gulbis on Thursday, watched from the player's balcony as Troicki defeated Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–7, 6–0, 1–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the gloaming. The Serb had wanted to come off at 5–5 in the fifth, called for a ruling, and was told to play on. "I was having trouble seeing the ball, but I decided to go for the shots and it worked well. So this is a positive thing."

Triocki, who like Murray was a good footballer in his youth, managed only one game when they played in the fourth round of the Miami Masters in March, a tournament won by Murray. "I felt confident against Andy, but he was playing really good and I didn't do anything right. I hope it doesn't happen again. I need to play offensive and to believe that I can win these matches against the top players." Murray's aim will be to win in straight sets again, and to conserve as much energy as possible prior to next week, though at this stage he may not face a major test until the semi-finals when he could play Andy Roddick, twice a Wimbledon runner-up in 2004 and 2005.

Murray will prepare in exactly the same way for Troicki as he would for Federer in the final. Routine is of the optimum importance without it becoming overly obsessive. The mantra must remain one match at a time, although a Federer-Murray final is already being eagerly anticipated. That win at Queen's, in relation to Austin, has obvious resonances with the third of Fred Perry's Wimbledon victories in 1936, the last time a British man won the title. And this year is the centenary of Perry's birth.

Of course Murray is not the only one with destiny tugging at his coat-tails, albeit with a less cobwebbed hand. Federer would dearly love to beat Sampras's record here a week tomorrow, having so recently won the French Open for the first time. Just nine days to wait, give or take a few pitfalls.